COMMUNITY FORUM

leaking from roof around chimney

Help? My roof is leaking around the chimney. The house is 10 years old and the problem has been a recurring one over the last 3-5 years. The chimney is covered in wood siding. We recently had a major repair, new flashing, broken siding replaced, new shingling around the base, etc. It has consistently continued to leak since then. The roofer comes out, put silicone caulking in every tiny crack or crevice he can find, and then the next rainstorm, it leaks again. We, including the roofer (who seems very competent), are struggling for a "fix." Got any ideas? The roofer said it really is a chimney problem, not a roofing problem, but is still trying to help me. He also said he had known of people who had sprayed the entire chimney with silicone spray, but I can't find anyone who does that--the chimney repair people say that is a technique reserved for masonry chimneys. Help!

Chip

03:24AM | 09/04/00

Does your chimney have a topcap on it? Water could be running down the inside and traveling through a crack in the morter once inside. If it does not have a topcap, get one made for it.

Chip

03:27AM | 09/04/00

Oh, I see, it is not masonary. It still should have a topcap though. Have you thought of getting a second opinion?

Chip, it is a metal pipe and it does have a cap on it, although, of course, it is a kind of grill work around the sides of the portion of the pipe under the cap. Have had a couple of opinions--nothing new.

Chip

12:16PM | 09/04/00

The grill is nesasary for not to let birds in, and of course letting smoke out.

It is dang near impossible to tell where and how it is leaking site unseen. I know you probably have but, take a flashlight up in the attic and look for water stains, remember water will run down, across, drip, and the leak may not be right above where you see the damage in the house. May not even be around the fireplace. See if you can't pinpoint the exact location of the leak instead of generally calking. Look at the rig row(very top shingles) and make sure none were cracked from bending or steppng on.(do not step on the rig row). If all else fails, you may need to get one more opinion.

You could also try having someone on the outside(maybe even on the roof) spraying with the hose from all different angles(but not up, simulate rain) and someone in the attic with a light to see if you can't pinpoint the leak. You really need to pinpoint the leak before you can fix it. And like I said, it is possible it may not be the fireplace.

Chip, thanks for the advice. I think our next step will be to try the thing with the hose. One of the problems, which I did not mention is that there really is no attic. The leak is above the fireplace in a room with 15-16 foot cathedral ceilings and a severe slant. There is a closet upstairs that is behind the fireplace and it does get water, too. There may be a crawl space above that, but no attic. Anyway, your suggestions have been helpful and I will pass them on to my roofer. He's a nice guy who is as frustrated as I am. We really thought we had taken care of the problem when we did the big repair with new step flashing, replacing some of the siding, new shingles all around the area, etc.

Chip

05:55PM | 09/05/00

Yes, talk with your roofer, the waterhose may not help if you can't see where it is coming in at, unless you wet one side at a time and wait for it to get wet and that could be more damaging. IF you are going to have to replace any rock from the damage you may try cutting out the piece to replace then do the water hose and looking like that. You cannot however (not recomended) replace the rock until the leak is fixed.

It is heavily raining outdoors. In the fall of 2012 I had a new roof put onto the house. I also asked them to put in the roof ridge and eventually I would put a piece of plywood over the two end vents as I understand that you have either one or the other, but not both. The new roof leaks.

I awoke to the rain as many probably did this morning. When walking down the stairs, my nightgown became soaked with water as it hit the stairs. I thought the dog may have had an accident, but there was not any odor.

In investigating the problem, I realized the water was coming from the light fixture over the stairs. I pulled down the stairs, went up into the area above the second floor and saw the roof was leaking around the chimney making a track of water along the line of the plywood and dripping onto the insulation. Apparently the water made its way to the light fixture over the stairs. As it dripped down over the light fixture, it fell making puddles on the stairs.

I put a plastic bin up there to catch whatever it can, but this definitely needs to be fixed. I emailed the person responsible for the roof job, but who knows if I'll hear from him. Any suggestions as to DYI for me out there folks?

BV001649

02:48PM | 07/24/13

I had leak in a ceiling-got quotes from 3 roofers to replace roof. Same leak after new roof - No one had checked chimney.I looked down chimney with drop cord light, saw cracks on sides of clay liner & big hole where a chunk had fallen out. Found water was coming down chim. sides & running down rafter & leaking in another place. Have chimney guy look at your chimney. Mine had old rusted flashing buried under layers of roof asphalt, & totally eroded chim. mortar. Good luck!